Do Something, Nico-kun!
by KittyinShadows
Summary: It's been years since Nico left... He's happy now, far away from everything that caused him pain. But when he realizes its Valentines Day, he's reminded of his first love, Percy Jackson. And even though its been forever...he wants to do something. (Let's be honest I have given up on this story)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! This is for Takara Pheonix's Valentines Nicercy contest. I've never posted anything before, and I figured this was a good recent to get off my butt (metaphorically). **

**Please forgive me for any errors in canon as I am currently in the process of reading BoO, and had to write this based on what everyone and their grandma has spoiled for me. Also forgive any misrepresentation of Japanese culture, as I don't know shit about it. And I'm pretty sure Piper is completely OOC.**

**This does not contain smut, just Nico (my precious) being comfortable with his sexuality and wearing a leather jacket (what else is there in life?).**

**Warning: This is MalexMale, so if you aren't into that, don't read on, and if you do don't bitch at me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the PJO or HoO plots, characters, or anything else. I don't own Japan. I don't own Buffy. I only own the writing in this story, and maybe Hitomi-chan. Enjoy!**

_**Do**_ **something, Nico-kun!**

Nico wasn't sure exactly how long it had been since he'd left. He knew it had been a long time. Years, really. He tried not to think about it. It was an uncomfortable thought, after all that time he had lost after spending so long caught in the Lotus spell.

Sometimes, though, he noticed things. When he got dressed, or bought clothes, he was shocked to realize that since he'd left he'd grown four shoe, shirt, and pant sizes, and even more underwear sizes. When he looked in the mirror, he was shocked to see he was taller, and broader, his hair no longer greasy, his skin no longer pallid, and his eyes no longer bloodshot. Whenever he Iris messaged Hazel she would gasp about how different he looked.

It scared him sometimes, that he was different.

Because, you see, it wasn't just his appearance that had changed, it was also his personality. He was no longer the nervous, shifty kid he had been once. He wasn't nervous when he checked out a guy, or when a guy checked out him. He wasn't scared of who he was any more, or of what others thought about him. What this time away had brought him was confidence, space to become his own person. He was confident in himself, in his powers, his charms. Now, he wasn't scared to make friends.

He was a Son of Hades. He was strong, handsome, smart. He didn't need to impress people, or need people to like him.

In the years he had travelled the world, he had stopped being shy and scared, and had become someone who he _liked_.

He had travelled a lot. At first, he had gone back to Italy, but that had been too familiar. So after a semester, he had decided to move to France, because he had been taking French in school. (Simply put, he had thought it absurd when Hades refused to finance him unless he went to school. Since when do gods give a fuck about their kids?) There he learnt Japanese online—back-up plan, bitches—so that when it turned out France didn't fit him, and neither did any of the other English, Italian, Greek, or French speaking countries, he moved to Japan. That was where he was now.

He liked it there. It fit. He was fascinated by the culture, fluent in the language (he had rather a skill for languages), he adored anime and manga, the food, the history, and all the friends he had made. They were surprisingly accepting of his sexuality. Of course, not all people were like that, but his friends were, and that's what mattered to him.

He was happy there. As time passed, he dreamt less and less of Tartarus. He dreamt less and less of Percy. He was a senior in high school. He'd had more than one beautiful boy in his bed (Was it bad that that surprised him?). His life was ahead of him. Life was good.

That day, he noticed something odd when he was walking through the school. All around him, boys and girls were standing close, talking in soft tones. Some of the girls were nervous, some confused, some joking. They were handing boxes and bags and various small things to the boys. Was he missing something? It seemed almost like—

"Nico-senpai?" a younger girl was standing in front of him biting her lip nervously. _Oh, shit,_ he thought, when he saw the small gift-bag she held tightly in her little hands.

"Oh, my gods," he moaned in English, falling face first onto his bed, then cursing violently in Italian. On the other side of the phone, his best friend Hitomi laughed.

"I told you you should have skipped today," she giggled in Japanese.

He cursed her in Italian, then switched to something she would understand. "You didn't tell me _why_!" he snarled.

"I assumed you knew it was Valentine's Day!" she exclaimed. "Americans have that, too, you know!"

"Well, yeah, but I don't exactly pay attention to the day."

"Yeah, which I will never understand. Why is that exactly?" she inquired, her voice softening.

"..." He was silent. He wanted to tell her. But, how could he? How could he explain everything, without explaining anything? And over the phone, at that? "...I...I don't think I'm ready to talk about it."

He imagined her smiling and nodding in her room. "That's alright. But, you know I'm here for you, right?"

Now he smiled, if sadly. "Yeah."

That night, he couldn't sleep. Like, at all. He tossed, turned, and refused to think about he-who-shall-not-be-named. When he did drift off, he dreamt of Percy, and startled awake in a cold sweat.

So, yeah, it was sometime after midnight, but he called Hitomi.

It rang for so long, he thought it would go to voice-mail. But, she did pick up. "Nico-kun?" she said groggily.

"There was a guy," he blurted out.

There was a pause, and when she began she sounded awake. "What was his name?"

"Percy."

"You liked him?"

"I loved him. I still do."

"Ah. Did he…?"

"No. He didn't even know about it. To him I was just a pest, and a hold-back, and to tell the truth, I was."

"And he's the reason you don't keep track of days."

"He's the reason I left America and cut off all ties with my friends," Nico laughed bitterly.

"And this still bothers you."

"No. I mean, yes. I just, I've changed so much since then, I've become _me_, but I can't let go of the fact I never _did_ anything about it. I can't let go of _him_. And that pulls me back to being that stupid, angry, scared kid again."

"Well, I think you need to resolve this whole Percy issue, before anything will change. Maybe...see him, or talk to him, or I don't know, send him a Valentines card, just, something to make you feel like you acted. Ya know what I mean?"

"Yeah...yeah. Thanks, Tomi-chan. I've got an idea now." He hung up without goodbye's. His mind had started buzzing at the word 'Valentines.' He had an idea, all right.

Nico shadow-traveled into the camp. He appeared behind a cabin, and walked out into the path. Standing straight, he ran his left hand through his hair, holding his prize behind his back in his right.

Japan was thirteen hours ahead of the East Coast, so it was midday, and Valentines day had actually been the day before.

He imagined how he must look. If anyone saw him, they'd think he looked like a dark angel. That's always what his friends back in Japan called him, especially after he showed them Buffy, and they realized how much he looked like _that_ Angel (To be honest he didn't see it, but whatever). And, he'd specifically amped up the punk-factor for today. His hair was styled like usual, the right side undercut and the rest loose and shaggy, only a bit more gelled. His right ear had several obsidian rings in the cartilage. He had on black eyeliner (and some mascara, but he would never admit it), that made his black eyes stand out even more in his olive-tinted face. He was wearing calf-high black combat boots, super-tight black skinny-jeans, a black tee which he knew from experience fit him perfectly, his black leather trench coat (a lot like Angel's from Buffy, too, now that he thought about it), and fingerless black leather gloves.

Normally, he didn't look like this. Make-up was too much work, his school had a dress-code, and to be honest he despised skinny-jeans. So, while he did stick to darker colors, he had specially dressed up for the occasion.

He heard giggling to his left, and turned his head to see two girls, one blonde and one native American, walking down the path. As they got closer, his eyes widened in recognition. It was Piper and Annabeth...holding hands?

When the two girls saw him they stopped and gasped. Piper, obviously not recognizing him, gasped and stepped behind her girlfriend.

"Who are you?" squeaked the daughter of Aphrodite. "How did you get in here?"

Annabeth, however, recognized him, if somewhat slowly. "...Nico?" she finally asked.

"Nico?" squeaked Piper.

"Annabeth," said boy acknowledged. "Hey. Been awhile."

The girl gawked for a moment, before snapping, "Are you kidding me?! You disappeared off the face of the Earth three years ago!"

Nico rolled his eyes at her melodrama. "And you see? You all survived," he drawled, blinking languidly.

She huffed and narrowed her eyes, but decided to drop it. By now, her girlfriend had stepped forward again. "What're you doing back?" she questioned.

Nico shrugged. Deciding to test something, he ran his left hand through his hair, purposefully flexing. Neither of them batted an eye. Oh, yeah, he was pretty sure they were gay. Not that he was overly-confident or anything, but he'd seen more than one girl literally _swoon_ from that move. "I needed to take care of something."

The girls studied him closely. "Was that supposed to impress us?" Annabeth inquired.

"No," he said truthfully. "I'm going to assume you and Percy broke up, your being gay and all?"

"More than a year ago," she replied honestly. Then she noticed how he was holding his right hand. "What's behind your back?"

"Oh, nothing." He shrugged and changed the subject. "Would you happen to know where Percy is?"

"Probably training," she answered. "Nico, you're not going to hur—" the Son of Hades disappeared into the shadows.

Percy stood in the center of the training arena, teaching younger campers to fight. When Nico first got a glimpse of the demigod, he'd momentarily paused in his mission. Percy was...well, he was shirtless. And while Nico was a powerful demigod, he was also a teenager. So he stopped to pant over the expanse of bronzed, sweaty skin and lean muscles. Percy was far fitter than any of Nico's previous conquests (he couldn't call them boyfriends when they were barely ever on a first-name basis), he had a definite six-pack, a new tattoo of a wave of his lower back, a small trail of hair disappearing into his low-hanging jeans, and whenever he rolled his shoulders Nico had to stave off vivid fantasies of Percy beneath him.

Breaking out of his stupor, he sauntered over to where Percy's shirt and water bottle were sitting, and carefully placed his gift atop the shirt. Standing straight, he smirked at the sight. It was actually kind of cliché, but he thought it was an original and perplexing cliché, so it was fine. Sitting on the crumpled shirt were two flowers, tied together with a red ribbon. One was a black rose, still with thorns, and the other was a blue orchid, both acquired from Persephone's garden (a process he never wanted to repeat).

In this aspect, he decided, being a day late would work in his favor. Yesterday, two flowers would have blended into all the American Valentine's galore. Today it would stand out.

Percy, he knew, would be curious, and would ask around about it. When Nico's friends heard about it, they would recognize his handy-work, and urge him to find this person (he would make damn-well _sure_ they did). Annabeth and Piper would hear about it, remember his visit, and encourage him, too.

He didn't bother waiting to see if Percy saw the gift. He shadow-traveled home, feeling better than he had in years. Even if nothing came of it, he'd _done_ something.

The Son of Poseidon walked over to where his shirt sat on a bench. There, he saw something peculiar.

"What the—?" Percy said, picking up two beautiful flowers. "Ow!" he squeaked when a thorn pricked him. "Where did this come from?" he wondered aloud.

"Percy!" just then, Annabeth and Piper came running towards him. "Percy! Are you oka—oh." They saw the boy standing there perfectly fine, looking at them perplexed.

"Uh, yeah, is there a reason I wouldn't be?"

"Um, sort of, what did he—" suddenly Piper elbowed her girlfriends side.

"Annie!" she hissed, jerking her head at what Percy was holding.

Annabeth's eyes landed on two flowers, and her eyes went wide. "Percy, where did you get those?" she questioned, trying not to give anything away.

"I don't know. They were just sitting on my shirt when I finished training."

Piper squealed in delight. "How romantic! You have a secret admirer! I wonder who it is…"

A secret admirer? Percy thought. He looked at the flowers in his hand, and began to blush.

And whether he _found_ this secret admirer, well, that's another story.

_Le Fin_

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Comments are welcome, just please be polite. And Happy Valentines Day! (Pfft, that was a month ago, I'm sooo late)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello, my darlings. So, I wasn't at all intending to make this a chapter story. It was gonna be just a one-shot, and I know I'm evil to end it that way, ahaha, but y'all wanted more, so who am I to deny you of that?**

**Pardon me if the Japanese I got off a shitty internet translator doesn't mean what I think it means. Heh…yeah.**

**Anyhow, this is what else I've got, it may be a somewhat slower pace, or not as high-quality as the original, because I didn't have a clue what to do with this. If I do decide to do anymore, then they may be slow coming out, because I'm awful with chapter stories. If my procrastination bugs you then feel free to cuss me out**—**I mean motivate me through a comment. You guys are the reason I'm doing this. **

**＼＿ﾍ****(****◕‿◕✰****) ****(ermagerd it's a little guy with a laptop! How have I never used these before?!)**

**Disclaimer: I didn't own PJO the first chapter, I don't own it now.**

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Chapter Two:

I Don't Know Where I Am, or What Your Saying, but Hey, I've Got Nothing Better To Do.

Percy stared down at the flowers in a vase by his bed.

He was starting to get frustrated. Very, very, very frustrated. And frustrated sons of Poseidon are rarely a good thing. He just was at his wits end. Who the Hades had sent these damn things to him? He had asked literally every girl in the whole damn camp, even Clarisse (that had not gone well. At all.), and they all acted as confused as him. They could have been lying to him…but he was pretty decent at finding lies. So who could it have been? When he asked for Rachel's help she'd smiled and told him to use his brain. Chiron had taken one look at the flowers and said, "I shouldn't get involved in this." And when he had stooped low enough to ask Mr. D, the god had looked him in the eyes and said with a bored tone of voice, "If you can't figure out who gave you these, Pippy Jenkins, then you are even dumber than I imagined."

This only served to make the stupid valentine even more interesting and frustrating. What did everyone else see that he didn't?

Normally he wouldn't even care. They were just flowers. Big deal. And maybe they were really nice ones, but still. _Flowers_. Not like he'd never gotten flowers before. Hell, once the Demeter cabin had filled his entire cabin with daisies while he slept. Getting flowers really didn't merit any investigation beyond asking around a little bit. So why did they matter? _At all_? Well, these flowers were different.

He hadn't been the one to notice. It was actually Jason. The son of Jupiter had come over one morning to ask him to spar ("_Gods_ Jason, it's the morning! Sleep!"), and had noticed that the flowers he had received _weeks_ ago were still alive. Even though he hadn't refilled the vase once. And then there was the fact that every time he got near them, they gave him the weirdest chill. He hadn't felt like that in years. It was the same feeling he got when he battled zombies, shadow travelled, or was around an angry Nico di Angelo.

He couldn't figure it out. And every time he _didn't _figure it out, he wanted to know more.

Alright. That's it. He gave up. It was time to put this problem before the collective mind of the Seven (minus Hazel and Frank).

He dropped the flowers onto the ground in front of him at the campfire and pointed. "I want to know who sent these to me, so I can throw them at their stupid face," he said to the four friends who were gathered around him. "Anyone have an idea?"

They all looked between the remarkably undamaged flowers and Percy, and considered backing away slowly.

"Um," Leo began slowly. "If they aren't magic then—"

"They are magic."

"Never mind."

"Well," Piper said thoughtfully. "Maybe if you figured out what they meant, you could find who sent them."

He scowled. He didn't like symbolism. It reminded him of prophecies. Bleh. "What do you mean, what it means?" He was really over all this thinking crap.

"Uh—"

"Or maybe," Annabeth quickly interceded. "We could find out where they're from."

"Where they're from?" he repeated. He seemed to accept Annabeth's idea; one does not argue with Annabeth.

"Percy," she sighed in exasperation. "Magic flowers. Which don't die. And feel like death. Connect the dots."

"Persephone's garden!" he realized suddenly. "Whoever gave these to me must have gotten them from her."

"Exactly. And who do we know who knows Persephone…"

"Nico!" Percy's eyes widened as he understood what that meant. "So maybe Nico can help me find the person who gave these to me." Around him his friends were silent.

"Um, actually I was more thinking—"

This time it was Piper who cut off her girlfriend. "Good idea! But how do we find Nico…?" Everyone turned to look at Jason.

He blinked. "What?"

"You were friends with Nico right...?" Percy said.

"Eh, well, I mean I tried to be…"

"Right. And knowing you, you wouldn't have _stopped_ trying just because he left."

"Uh…" he glanced around nervously.

"And I bet he knew that, too. If there's anyone he told besides Hazel, it would be you."

"Huh? No, that's—"

"So where is he?"

"I don't know."

"C'mon, Jase," Leo tried to persuade. "Just tell him so he'll stop obsessing about these stupid flowers and we can get shit done."

"Yeah," Percy reaffirmed. "I won't stop bugging you until you tell me. And you know I'm very persistent."

Jason sighed and pushed up his glasses. "Look, I can't tell you."

"So you do know."

"Where is he?"

"Tell us."

He shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Listen, I promised Nico I wouldn't tell anyone where he is, okay? I keep my word."

They were all silent for a moment until Annabeth said, "Could you tell us where he's _not_?"

"…I guess.

They leaned forward. "Go on."

"Well, he's not in the U.S." They all exchanged a surprised look. "He's not in either of the Americas. He's not in Europe. He's not in the Underworld. He's not in Africa. He's not in Australia. He's not in Antarctica, obviously. He's not in China, North or South Korea, Mongolia, Cambodia, Louse, Thailand, India, or Vietnam. And he's not in the Philippines. That's all I'm saying."

"…What does that even leave?" Piper asked.

"Wait," Annabeth realized. "You didn't say Japan."

Finally Percy spoke, "What the hell is Nico doing in Japan?"

"More importantly, there's almost 130 million people in Japan. How are we going to find him?"

They all pondered this for a moment, before Jason sighed and said, "Just have Mrs. O'Leary find him."

Four pairs of eyes turned to him in astonishment. It didn't sound like this was a very new idea. "…Why didn't you say this before?" someone asked.

"You didn't ask."

"…Well."

中断

Percy had no idea where he was. It was midafternoon, people were rushing and chattering gibberish, and the city around him was completely unfamiliar.

Annabeth had told him about the time difference, so he waited until it would be daytime on a Sunday here. Then he'd hopped on Mrs. O'Leary and said, "Take me to Nico."

And now he was here. Where was he? Well, he had no idea, because every sign and billboard was in _freaking Japanese_! Why had he thought this was a good idea? Knowing his luck he was probably walking into a monsters den. And if he did find Nico the kid would probably run away or knee him in the groin.

But he really had nothing better to do so…

He hopped down and followed the hellhound into a huge high-rise which looked nicer than the rest. He didn't want to think about how she got through the door. Or into the elevator. It was better to just accept it.

They went to the sixteenth floor, and she led him to a door with a sign on it he didn't understand. He looked the door over…and felt underwhelmed. No skull knocker, no aura of death, not even black paint, just a door. But Mrs. O'Leary nudged him until he knocked, so it must be it. Then she immediately left. _Traitor._

When no one came to the door he knocked once more, secretly hoping no one was home so he could go back to camp and maybe spar with Jason or something. Anything that didn't involve being in the most unfamiliar country he could possibly go to, searching for a moody teenage boy who probably hated him. Why was he doing this again? Oh, right, because he'd gotten some freaking _flowers_. Why did those flowers even matter really? He should leave—

"_Tomi-chan!_ _Hairi kudasai!_" [Tomi-chan! Come in!] a faint voice called from the other side. What? Were those words? They didn't _sound_ like words. They sounded like the random gibberish he had heard on the street. But the tone was friendly…maybe he was saying come in? Unless in Japanese happy meant angry…hmm. Well, only one way to find out. He turned the handle and the door opened. Either the Japanese were extremely trusting of their neighbors, or this person was expecting someone.

He walked in and almost fell on his face. The entry hall he was in had a lower tile spot with a few pairs of shoes on it, then the floor was raised a few inches and became wood. The hallway was otherwise bare, with white walls and ceiling and five doors, only the last of which was open.

When he opened the door an unfamiliar low gravelly voice began to speak again, "_Tomi-chan. Watashiha eigo no ressun wo teikyou suru to yakusokushita kedo, watashiha tsuini sono eigo nitsuite, anata wo itte i ta no baajon watashiga tabun kangae mashita watashitachi ga kawari ni dekiru node._" [Tomi-chan. I know I promised to give you English lessons, but I finally got a subbed version of that movie I was telling you about, so I thought maybe we could do that instead.] Um, did this guy realize these aren't actual words? It was coming from the last door in the hall, so Percy started towards it, carefully placing his hand in his pocket where Riptide rested. When he was about to enter they spoke again. "_Aa, Tomi-chan, anata wo oshie te kure ta watashiha sono otokowo tazune ta ka. Di Immortales, kareha totemo sekushii desu. Kareno o shiriwo mi te iru? _Fuck!" [Oh, Tomi-chan, did I tell you that I asked that guy out? Di Immortales, he's so sexy. Have you seen his ass? _Fuck!_] Okay, most of that made no sense, except for…_Di Immortales_? Could this be Nico after all? Except Nico didn't swear, and that was most definitely a cuss word at the end.

He pushed the door open and walked in.

They didn't seem to notice him, so he took the opportunity to take in his surroundings. The room was painted a light smoky grey, with light hardwood floors. The furniture was a combination of cultures, as if the owner couldn't decide what he liked better. Oddly enough it all blended well. It appeared to be a living room/ dining room/ kitchen, with the kitchen separated by a modern half-wall to his right. Across from Percy the entire wall was floor to ceiling windows, which overlooked the city in what, he had to admit, was an amazing view. To his left was a huge entertainment system, with a gorgeous 90-inch flat screen. On either side of the entertainment system was a bookshelf, stuffed to the brim but apparently still not big enough as there were stacks of books and other crap strewn around. Arranged around the display were several chairs and a couch, as well as a coffee table. A dinky little dining room set was pushed into the corner by the kitchen, leaving a large space for who knows what in the center of the room.

The whole thing had a rather peculiar color pallet. The bookshelves and entertainment system were painted black, the couch was white, one chair was blue while the other seemed to be leather, and the plush rug in the center of the room was blood red, matching the blanket and pillows that were piled beside the couch. He was almost certain now that this was not Nico di Angelo's home.

The mysterious owner of all this was lounging on the couch, legs stretched out on the cushions, back to the room, staring out the window in apparent contentment. He was about the same height as Percy, but his body was more lean and wiry. He was wearing the most obnoxious red and teal plaid pajama pants, along with a black T-shirt that had some sort of Japanese text on it. His skin was a healthy olive, and his deep black hair was in that weird one-sided undercut that Percy associated with rock-stars and emo's. (**A/N: Is the plural form of emo emi?**) Along the shell of his ear were several piercings, two of which had a little chain connecting them. Altogether this man did not fit Percy's mental image of Nico: gawky frame, near translucent skin, baggy clothes, wild greasy black hair, manic eyes, constant brooding discontent. This guy seemed like he had his shit together, which most demigods did not. Ever.

The man started to turn towards Percy. "_Oi. Nanino tame totemo—_" he suddenly stopped when he saw Percy, making a strangled choke noise in the back of his throat. Percy stared back with equal shock at an older, weirder, has-his-shit-together version of Nico…

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**A/N: Tada! So I actually meant for this chapter to have some more stuff happen…but then I realized it was getting on six pages…*awkward laughing* So I figured this was a good place to end it. I'll probably do two or three more chapters, plus another if I can figure out smut. If it seems kinda…sucky in places, that's because I have no freaking clue how to write Percy. And it was like ten o' clock at night. I am not a night writer. Any who, I hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to have a chapter every week. Kisses!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Heeyy, so what an amazing coincidence, the week after I start my first chapter story on FF, my computer miraculously stops charging. At all. Luckily it can be fixed. But until then I'm writing in a notebook, typing it on my family desktop, saving it on a flashdrive, and deleting the internet history after I post. So…valid excuse for late chapters.**

**Anyways enjoy this chapter; I really enjoyed writing it. Things are finally heating up! Hehehe. I also changed the way I do them talking in Japanese, due to limited internet access and laziness. If its in all italics its Japanese, if its just one or two words then its emphasis. **

**Thanks to Delaney for letting me finish typing and posting on her laptop! **

**Warning: cussing**

**Disclaimer: Don't own shit.**

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Chapter 3 (Oh look I gave up on titles)

Nico almost choked on his pocky.

He'd just been lounging on the couch, waiting for Hitomi to get in here. They had plans to study English, which was her worst subject. What Nico really wanted to do though was tell her all about a boy he'd met the day before and had a date with. Big, light-brown doe-eyes, small stature, that seemingly ageless genderless quality that as a westerner Nico still found absolutely fascinating. When he heard her enter the apartment he started chattering to her about it, the way they always did. When she entered the room and didn't answer his comment about said boys ass, which normally would have earned a, "_Nico-kun! Do you have no sense of decency?!_", he turned around to see―

Percy.

Here.

Right in front of him.

In Japan.

What the _fuck_.

"What are you doing here?" were the first words out of Percy's mouth. Well then, Nico couldn't comprehend Percy being here, but he could comprehend stupid questions.

"Well it is my apartment," he drawled. Percy's tan cheeks blushed just the tiniest bit (Aww…wait! No! Bad Nico! Not. Aww.).

"You know that's not what I meant. Why are you in freaking _Japan_?"

"Why should I tell you?" Nico snapped, standing and crossing his arms. He saw the hurt in Percy's eyes, but continued anyways. "What possible reason do I have to inform you of anything in my life? I was gone for _years_ and never once did you come looking for me. You didn't even bother to _ask_ Jay and Reyna, did you? You only asked Hazel _once_, and when she told you I was alive you were satisfied. So Percy, tell me again why I shouldn't kick your ass out of this country?" His skin was icy after his rant, his eyes endlessly dark, and the shadows in the room deepened.

Percy had a shocked, bewildered look on his face. "Nico…I—"

"What do you want?" he demanded irately.

"Nothing—"

"You're here, so you must want _something_. That's the only reason anyone ever looks for me." Suddenly something occurred to him. "Wait. Did something happen?! Oh gods, what's wrong? Is it Hazel?! Jason? Reyna? Are they okay?!"

Percy reached out with one hand to grab his arm. "Nico! Nothing's wrong, everyone's okay!"

Nico yanked his arm away. "Then why are you here?" he asked adopting a gloomy expression again.

"I need your help," he replied.

"Oh, really?" he said sarcastically. "And what do you want me to risk my life doing this time?"

"Hopefully nothing," Percy answered.

The son of Hades blinked. "Oh. Still...I can't help you okay? I don't want to get mixed up in all that demigod shit again."

"Just hear me out," the other urged.

"...Fine."

"Awesome. Okay, so after this last Valentines Day I got these flowers." Nico's eyes went wide with shock. That's what this was about? Oh shit, he was doomed. He never should have done that. He should have left it well enough alone. But...it didn't seem like Percy knew it was him. So maybe he could work this to his own advantage? Hmm, well he needed to find out what Percy knew anyways. "Normally it wouldn't be a big deal; I mean since Annabeth and I broke up I've been getting stuff from the girls at camp all the time. I just stuck them in a vase in my room and asked around a bit. no one came forward so I just forgot about it. But then a while later I realized that they hadn't died, and they give off a really Underworld-y vibe. So I investigated some more, and still came up with nothing. Everyone I asked told me it was really obvious or that I need to figure it out myself. And its getting really frustrating, so I asked everybody's opinion, and Annabeth said that if there from the Underworld then you might be able to help." He stopped and let out a big breath; he'd been speaking pretty fast.

Nico thought this over for a moment. He shouldn't get involved. It was a bad idea, and...he wasn't ready to get turned down by Percy. When he'd first had the stupid, impulsive idea to give him flowers from Persephone's garden, he'd wanted Percy to find out it was him. But now...he _really_ didn't. He didn't want this boy from his past interrupting the life he had now.

"So? Will you help me?" Percy pleaded.

Nico stared at the boy who had once been his hero and…couldn't say no. He'd never been able to say no to Percy. "Fine."

"Sweet!" the son of Poseidon exclaimed, punching his fist in the air. "Alright! C'mon, let's get goi—"

"Hold on," Nico interrupted. "I didn't say I could go _now_." This was one of the things he didn't like about Percy. He never _thought_. It didn't occur to him that sometimes there were other things than quests and monsters. Like, say, adorable Japanese boys with doe-eyes and a cute ass.

Percy blinked, as though he were realizing that Nico had a life. "Oh. Why not?"

He could make up a lie; he had homework, he had to get up early tomorrow, he needed to pick up his cat from the vet, something. But how would that make him any different than the old him. No more lying. No more hiding. Tell the truth. "I have a date."

Now it was Percy's turn to choke. "_You_…have a date?"

He shrugged and looked away. Since he'd moved here…he'd changed a lot in the way he acted with people, especially where it came to romance. After Percy, he knew that hiding his feelings didn't do anything except hurt himself. After Jason and Reyna and Hazel, he knew that closing himself off didn't make him feel better. Now he was more trusting, more open. He had friends, who knew his secrets and as much as they could about his past. When he liked a boy, he told them so. If they rejected him, well he hadn't lost anything, and if they accepted then he only gained. But with Percy standing here, he could feel all his old habits coming back. He wanted to merge into the shadows and just disappear. He knew he shouldn't have given Percy those flowers.

But maybe…this was an opportunity. _Get over it, Nico_, he told himself, forcing his eyes back to Percy's. "Yes," he answered with an outward calm. Inwardly he felt like one of those old wartime cartoons, where Donald Duck would run around getting blown up.

"Oh," Percy said, and then he smiled. "Yeah, no, I get it. I'll just come back when you've got time."

Nico scowled. Stupid Percy, being reasonable and _happy _for him. Bleh.

He heard the door click open. "_Nico-kun_," Hitomi called. "_I'm here. I picked up some of those chocolate soda's you claim not to like but I know you do. What—Oh."_ She stopped just in the doorway to the main room, her book bag hanging from her shoulder, a grocery bag from her hand, her lips in a surprised little "o". She looked between Nico and Percy. He could see the gears turning in her head.

Percy was observing Hitomi, too. "Is this her? She's cute."

Nico's eyes went wide. Wait, did Percy think—"No!" he exclaimed. "No, no, no, no. She's not—I mean—I—This is my friend, Hitomi. _Friend_." Percy was looking at him like, _dude who jammed a stick up _your_ ass?_ (**A/N: No pun intended. *slapped*) **Hitomi looked confused at his rapid-fire English.

"_Nico-kun_," Hitomi said. "_Is this the boy you were telling me about? The one with the, what was it, _Bambi's eyes? _I didn't realize he was American."_

While Nico was frozen trying to find words, Percy spoke, "Dude, why is she talking about Bambi's eyes? Is that like some Japanese food? 'Cause that's gross man."

"_I should go,_" Hitomi smiled. "_Sorry if I interrupted. But next time call me if something comes up."_ She looked Nico up and down. "_And maybe consider dressing nicer for your date_."

At this point Nico snapped out of it. "Wait!" Hitomi stopped, looking at him expectantly. "I, um. _This…isn't the boy I was telling you about. This is—Hitomi this is _Percy Jackson. _I told you about him at Valentines._"

Recognition dawned in her eyes. "_You invited him here?"_

_"__He found me."_

Her expression hardened. She set down the bags, walked up to Percy, hands on hips, and said in halting English, "You…do not hurt Nico-kun. Understand?"

He stared at her in surprise. "Of course I won't hurt him." He blinked. "Wait, you speak English?"

She nodded, still looking solemn, "No."

"Um…"

She turned to Nico. "_Should I go?_"

He bit his lip a bit, thinking. "_No. Stay. I'll get rid of him for now._ Percy, come back tomorrow at four local time. About…three in the morning New York time."

"Three in the…but that's so early—"

"Do you want my help or not?"

Percy sighed. "Yeah. See you then." He turned and left.

Percy did not like Hitomi. He didn't know why. She seemed perfectly okay, and he was pretty sure she wasn't a monster or something. He just…didn't like her. Maybe it was the way she said, "Do not hurt Nico," like she expected him to do just that. What had Nico been telling this chick. And why had he been so freaked about her meeting Percy?

Speaking of Nico…where did that kid go to? He was still half wondering if he had walked into the lair of a shape-shifter—a shape-shifter who didn't do good research.

This Nico was actually _taller_ than him, and wasn't skeletally skinny. This Nico seemed almost confident, open. The way he'd talked with Hitomi, though Percy didn't understand a word they said, was familiar and comfortable. Nico had made a life here, far away from demigods and quests. Seeing how much happier he was here...Percy almost regretted coming. He didn't want to screw things up. But he couldn't bring himself to totally regret it, because that was the closest he'd ever seen Nico to the way he was before Bianca died. And he wanted to have a part of that. After everything―oh! That's what it was. Hitomi reminded him of Bianca. The sisterly, caring way she smiled at Nico, and bravely tried to protect him...He didn't like her because...she made him guilty. Well damn.

At least now he was sure that she wasn't the girl Nico was going out with. Although...he didn't really know why it mattered. It wasn't any of his business. He just...wanted to look out for the kid. Yeah. Nico had gone through enough shit, he deserved a happy love-life. Yeah.

Percy decided that he'd get this quest over quickly and stop imposing himself into Nico's life. Hopefully the son of Hades would still want _something_ to do with him...but if he didn't, then he'd leave the boy alone.

As it turned out it was somewhat difficult to focus on someone you just met when the person who caused you years of self-hatred (though not purposefully) came back to haunt you.

It really sucked, because Nico really liked this boy. Ikumi was sweet, friendly, and attractive. He was interesting and a great conversationalist, and also found Nico interesting. Any other day Nico would have been hanging all over him. He liked this boy more than most of the others he'd dated. If he weren't so distracted he would have probably wanted an actual relationship with him. But as it was, by the end of the evening Ikumi was saying, "_I really like you, but I don't think you're interested in me romantically. Maybe we could be friends?_"

Which _majorly_ sucked. And not in the good way.

When he got home he didn't feel like sleeping, even though it was nearly midnight, Japan time. He calculated the time difference and decided it was about 11 a.m. at Camp Half-Blood. He raided his supply of golden drachmas and I.M.-ed Jason.

Through the Mist he saw Jason sitting on his room polishing his sword. When the blond boy noticed Nico he nearly dropped the blade on his foot, though luckily he did not. "Nico!" he exclaimed. "What's up?"

Nico scowled at him until his sunny smile disappeared. "So Percy visited me today," he replied flatly.

"Um," the son of Jupiter laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "About that…"

"I have to wonder _how exactly_ he found me."

"Uh―"

"I wonder if it had anything to do with a certain demigod I know."

"Haha, well I don't know what Leo would have to do with―"

"Jason."

"Okay, I didn't tell him where you were, _exactly_…"

"Jason."

"I just..._suggested_ that maybe Mrs. O'Leary could find you."

"Jason."

Jason smiled sheepishly. "Are you mad? I mean, obviously not too mad, since Percy did come back…"

Nico sighed back in his room. "I'm not mad," he said exhaustedly. "Just tired. But...I need to face this. So even though I'm not really ready to do this, I will anyway." He raised an eyebrow. "I just wish you'd warned me beforehand."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Nico settled onto his bed. "Yeah sure. So there I was, eating a pocky of all things…"

**A/N/: Tada! I hope you liked it, I know its shorter than I would like, but oh well. Once I have my computer back the chapters will get longer. I love comments more than I love gummy-bears, and I ****_love_**** gummy-bears, so keep that in mind...**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Eey, boo's! So we're finally getting to the good stuff, yay! I've realized that there will probably be more chapters than I'd planned, because they're shorter. Thanks to everyone who's reading, I love you all! Mwa ( ᵕ̤ɜ)ᵕ̤****ૢ****ᴗᵕ̤****ૢ ****)**

**Warning: Boyxboy**

**Disclaimer: I continue to not own shit.**

Percy had to get up at three in the freaking morning to sneak out of his cabin, find Mrs. O'Leary, and shadow-travel to freaking Japan.

He was seriously beginning to consider taking those stupid flowers, dropping them in the Long Island Sound, and not looking back. But he'd already come this far, so he might as well see it out.

Outside of Nico's apartment, he glared up at the sun. Stupid sun, didn't it realize it was three in the morning? He went inside, and knocked. A few seconds later the door opened to show Nico, dressed in dark-washed jeans, a white tee (Okay, what?), and a long leather jacket. His Stygian iron blade was attached to his chain belt. And was Percy seeing things, or was he wearing…

"Dude, is that eyeliner?"

The boy in questions blushed and looked away. "No. Fuck off," he said stubbornly.

"Um...okay," was all Percy could think to say that early. "Can I come in? We should probably figure out our first move."

Nico nodded and led him inside. The living room looked a lot different now. The books were now arranged artistically in stacks out of the way. The heap of throw blankets and pillows that had been on the floor were now neatly set on the couch and chairs. Without the random clutter it looked entirely different. Like the typical bachelor pad, which, Percy guessed, it was. Nico sat on the couch and Percy was about to sit in the leather chair when he realized―

"Is this dracanae hide?" he said horrified.

"Um, uh, yeah, kinda."

"'_Kinda_?'" he frowned, looking at the chair. "How did you even get this?"

"Oh, um. I killed a dracanae and its skin didn't disintegrate, and that chair needed to be reupholstered because of, erm, reasons, so I just found a guy who knew how to do leather chairs and told him it was alligator."

Well that wasn't _too_ bad, but still. He sat in the other chair. "Okay. So we need to find Persephone. So whats the best way to get to the Underworld?"

"Percy," Nico sighed. "It's the spring."

The son of Poseidon blinked a few times. "Oh. Right. Um...so where would she be…?"

"Somewhere with a _lot_ of flowers I'm guessing." The younger boy scowled. Percy remembered that Persephone had turned him into a dandelion once. Whoops. Maybe he should of thought of that before he asked him for help.

"But...where specifically?"

"I don't know. I'll try to sense her."

"...You can do that?" Since when? And why couldn't Percy do that? Man, would it make his life easier to be able to avoid Mr. D.

"Yeah," he answered simply, closing his eyes and taking on look of concentration. After a few minutes Percy started to feel awkward just watching him, so he decided to explore a little. He turned around, and what else did he see but the entertainment system. Okay, yeah, he _had_ to check that out.

There were three cabinets, one to the left of the TV, one to the right, and one below. He started at the left, and when he opened the door his mouth started to water. _Gods_, teenage boy heaven. DVDs, VCRs (wh_a_t?), CDs, and games, games, and more games. Every game he'd heard about but couldn't afford, and dozens of others in what seemed like five different languages. Okay, yep, he didn't care if Nico _did_ hate him, no way was he not coming back here regularly. He closed the game cabinet and moved to the middle. Percy had to force himself not to exclaim. This was the tech cabinet. And, _damn_. DVR, VCR (why?), DVD, and every possible game console. Gods, why couldn't _his_ dad be the god of wealth? Dammit. So unfair. Finally he moved to the right cabinet, which was a different kind of heaven, the demigod kind. This was the weapons collection. Swords, daggers, somehow a bow and arrows, and several other strange dangerous devices. A faint layer of Mist lay over it; when he unfocused his eyes it changed into a comic book collection. He focused his eyes again and started to inspect them.

Nico may not have been very involved in the demigod world anymore, but he clearly kept his weapons in good shape. Chiron would have been proud. Percy payed close attention to some of the stranger ones. Like the katana. Now _that _was cool. He unsheathed it and instantly felt like a ninja. Epic. He saw something labeled '_Pig Bomb_" and wondered how Nico had snagged one from Lou Ellen. On the bottom shelf was an assortment of random crap, which he guessed Nico had shoved in there when he cleaned up. A couple books, some board games, crumpled strips of paper, and at the front, to Percy's great embarrassment, a half-empty box of condoms. Okay then. He decided that was enough investigating. He _really_ didn't need to know that much about this kids sex-life. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised though. He had a similar box stashed in his dresser at camp, though his hadn't been used since he broke up with Annabeth.

He stepped back and was closing the cabinet when Nico opened his eyes. "What are you doing?" the dark-eyed boy asked.

"Just looking around," Percy shrugged. "You have a wicked video game collection."

Nico's eyes darted to the bottom of the cabinet on the right, then back to Percy. Finally he says. "Yeah. Just don't go in my bedroom."

Okay, so maybe he shouldn't say this, but… "Why, what's in your bedroom?"

"You know how messy it was in here yesterday?" Percy nodded. "Ten times that."

Ah. Well, Percy thought it was something more than just that, but he decided to drop it. "So where is she?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, Paris."

"Paris? Like, France?"

"Well the flower goddess certainly isn't in Texas."

"Oh, right. So, where in Paris?"

"The Luxembourg Gardens."

"The whaa…?"

"The Luxembourg Gardens. It's a famous garden and palace in the left bank district…" he trailed off at the blank look on Percy's face. "Never mind." He stood up. "You call Mrs. O'Leary. She can take us to Paris, and I'll get us to the garden."

"You'll shadow-travel us there?"

Nico snorted. "Are you kidding me? It's like 9 a.m. there. I doubt there's a shadow to be found. We'll take the metro."

"Wait, how do you know how to get there?"

"I lived in Paris for a while," the younger said offhandedly, walking toward the door.

"You lived in Paris for a while," the older parroted.

"Yeah." Then he realized what he'd said. He froze for a moment, scrambling for words. "Err, I mean, that is to say―" He huffed and continued walking. "Whatever. Just call the damn dog."

An hour later they were seated in a cramped subway train full with people who didn't speak English. Percy had given up trying to keep track of where they were at that point. They switched trains several times, the maps made no sense, and everything was in French. At one point when even Nico had started looking lost, the son of Hades had said to a woman in fluent not-English, "_Excusez-moi, mais savez-vous comment trouver les Jardins du Luxembourg_?" Whatever her answer was even Percy's ADHD brain was unable to catch, but it seemed to help Nico.

They left the subway and to Percy's amazement entered the garden without having to pay. So this _really_ wasn't America. Once inside, he could see why Persephone would be here. Lush green lawns, beautiful flowerbeds, amazing statues. The whole place was gorgeous, which made him want to leave before a monster came and destroyed it in the process of killing him. Although he supposed Persephone wouldn't allow that.

Nico lead them purposefully. Persephone came into sight, dressed in a flowing white sundress, hair undone around her shoulders, delicately inspecting a flower with a delicate expression. The moment she saw them that expression disappeared. "What are _you_ doing here?" she scowled.

And well...no one ever said Percy was diplomatic. "Hey, couldn't you at least _pretend_ to have a heart for your stepson and the guy who saved your ass _twice_?"

The goddess glowered even more, looking ready to turn them both into roses. "Oh, my _stepson_. Tell me, son, _ai-je pas fait assez pour vous et votre petit ami_?"

Nico glanced nervously at Percy, but quickly recovered. He smoothly stepped in front of him. "My Lady," he bowed. "We come seeking your aide. Someone—we don't know who—has given Percy flowers from your garden in the Underworld. We were hoping you would be so kind as to tell us who. Is there perhaps anything we could do to persuade you?"

Persephone had lost the murderous glare at that point. She now regarded them like they were a puzzle she couldn't solve. She seemed especially confused about Nico. "Anything?"

He blinked. "Um—"

"Wait," Percy realized what Nico had offered. "Nico didn't—"

"I suppose I could think of _something_ to have you do…" she smiled wickedly.

"Shit—"

"A few things in fact. Firstly—"

"My Lady I think—" Nico broke in.

"Are you _interrupting_ me, child?" the goddesses eyes blazed.

"No, My Lady," he hurried to answer.

"I thought so. Firstly, there is a rare flower in the Himalayas which only bloom for one month in the spring. I want you to find one and bring it to me."

"But you're the goddess of flowers," Percy pointed out. "Why don't you just poof it here?"

"I don't feel like it," she simpered. "It grows in the valleys between mountains, especially in Tibet. Now I want you to bring it to me alive. I have no use for a dead flower. Then I will give you your next task."

"How many tasks _are_ there?"

"Mmm…" Persephone hummed, thinking about it. "Perhaps three? Yes, three sounds right." She turned away and began to examine the garden once more. A minute later she turned to look at the boys, who were still gaping at her. "Well what are you still doing here? Shoo."

She waved her hand and suddenly they were back, standing in Nico's living room. Nico glanced at his home. "So that makes me feel _really_ confident in my safety," he commented. Pfft. No kidding. "You want anything to eat?"

Percy blinked. "What?"

The other boy spoke to him slowly, like a child, "Do you want something to eat?"

"Um, yeah?" he said like a question. Wait, Nico was actually being hospitable? Whaaaaat? Nico disappeared into the kitchen, and a minute later came back with two plates of pizza. "They have pizza in Japan?" he asked as he took his plate and sat down on the couch.

Nico sat on the other end of the couch. "Um...I guess so. This I actually made myself." He could cook? Percy decided not to comment. He took a bite and couldn't suppress a delighted moan. Apparently Nico could cook _good_. When he'd inhaled it all he looked over to see Nico eating with a slight blush. He must not have been used to people eating his cooking. "So...what should we do now?"

Nico set down his empty plate and turned to face him. "I think we've done enough work for the day."

Percy nodded. "Me too. So same time tomorrow?"

"Actually…" the boy shyly looked aside and scratched the back of his neck. "Could we make it the day after tomorrow?" At Percy's questioning glance he added, "You need sleep and I need to keep up with school."

School…? Oh yeah. He'd almost forgot Nico was still a high-school student. Percy was taking the semester off because of a sudden influx of new campers who needed training. He'd forgotten that maybe Nico had to keep up his grades. And at a normal school, too, not a special demigod one. Weird.

"Yeah, of course," Percy agreed. "I'm gonna head back to camp now. Maybe I can fit in a few hours of sleep."

Nico shrugged. "Okay. See ya 'round." Percy stood and left the apartment, calling Mrs. O'Leary again. Only it turned out he didn't need to because she was laying against the side of the building, panting in her sleep. Oops, that's right. She'd traveled all around the world, multiple times. She wouldn't be taking him anywhere today.

Nico was just hanging his sword above the TV when he head knocking. _Great_, he thought with an annoyed sigh. He finished making sure nothing was crooked, and went to the door. He wasn't surprised to see Percy. He sighed again and waved him in. "What's up?" he asked.

"Mrs. O'Leary needs to rest before taking me back." Shit, Nico had forgotten that the poor hellhound was probably exhausted. America to Japan, Japan to France, France to Japan...no way was she leaving without a good nights sleep. And a _lot_ of food. "Could I crash here?" What was he supposed to say? It _was_ partially his fault Percy couldn't get home. And...it couldn't _hurt_, right? Okay, maybe it could, but you know what, Nico needed to get over Percy five years ago.

"Yeah, sure. You can take the couch." He showed Percy which door was the bathroom. When the other boy went ahead to pick a good movie, he checked to make sure the doors to his bedroom and office/training room/nerd cave were locked. No need to tempt fate.

Hours later, around eleven local time, Nico lay in bed, listening to Percy clatter around in the living room playing video games. Yeah. This was going to be a long night.

**A/N: Yay, chapter 4! Yay, spring break! **

**Unfortunately, my precious laptop is **_**still**_ **being repaired, so...updates may be slow to come. Sorry, babes. But I hope to get the rest written down this week, so there will be longer chapters once I get my precious back. **

**Translations: "**Excuse me, but do you know how to find the Luxembourg Gardens?"

"Have I not done enough for you and your boyfriend? "


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Happy Easter! Except its not actually Easter now...whatever. So for those of you who are getting really bored with the slow build...sorry, don't worry, I'll get to some actual Nicercy soon. I hope. ^3^**

* * *

Chapter 5

When Nico woke up the next morning he left his room to see Percy sprawled face-down on the couch. His head rested on a throw pillow, one arm and leg were dangling over the edge, and the blanket was under him more than it was over him. A loud croaking sound that must have been a snore exuded from his squished mouth.

Nico sighed and shook his head. He went back to his room, got dressed, then went to the kitchen and made two plates of toast. After eating his own toast, he went to the couch, grabbed the blanket from beneath Percy, and yanked, causing the older demigod to tumble onto the floor.

Percy squawked in panic, reaching for Riptide, only to realize it was just Nico. "What the Hades man?" he bristled.

"I've gotta leave for school. There's some toast for you to take, but you can't stay here while I'm gone." He was not a morning person.

"Why not?" Percy smirked. "You got something to hide?"

Nico really wasn't in the mood for any snark. "Out." He pointed at the door., not batting an eye.

"Jeez. Ever heard of being a good host?" When he didn't receive a reaction, he hurried to grab his toast and leave.

Nico watched the son of Poseidon escape, sighing in relief. He grabbed his things and left.

中断

School was even more boring than usual. It didn't help that they were speaking a language that he'd only spoken for, what, two years? Not to say he didn't understand Japanese, but when you speak five different languages and are unfocused, words tended to blur into _blah-blah-blah-chitter-chatter-the-boy-you've-had-a-crush-on-since-you-were-ten-slept-on-your-couch-last-night-blah-blah-gibber-gabber_. It was starting to get annoying.

He didn't know how to feel about Percy. The guy was just as heroic as always, and stupid and impulsive, and endearingly annoying, and all these other things which were both good and bad. He was single. But he was also straight, and Nico wasn't gonna go down that road again.

But he'd just been so _cute_ that morning...Wait, no. That wasn't even remotely cute. His face had been smushed up like a pug, he had drool trailing down his face, he snored like a bear, and when he stood up he had the imprint of a pillow on his cheek. Not cute at all. Why would he even think that?

Maybe he should call up Ikumi. He was cute, and sweet, and not at all like he-who-shall-not-be-named. Maybe he could get Nico's mind off of you-know-who. Or he could make it worse, as distractions sometimes do. And besides, Ikumi didn't deserve that. He deserved an actual good boyfriend. Nico didn't think he could be that right now.

He sighed, staring out the window. He had less than two days to figure out what to do.

中断

_Well this is hardly even a quest_, Percy thought as Nico dug up the little blue blossom and replanted it in the pot Percy had snagged from the Demeter cabin.

He almost immediately regretted the thought.

He had seen a theory somewhere once that every decision every person made caused two alternate universes. Percy imagined that in some other universe there was a Percy who was intelligent and had decided to be smart and _not_ think optimistically, and _wasn't_ being attacked by a giant monster.

Percy had never seen anything like it before. It was three stories tall, with patches of long, matted, filthy white fur. It had teeth like daggers, coated in dried blood, as well as matching claws. It reminded Percy of a mix of the Abominable Snowman from that Christmas movie and something he'd seen on Scoobie-Doo. "Uhhh...Nico?"

"Hmm?" Nico set the pot down and turned to see what Percy was looking at. "Oh, shit."

Percy was beginning to think Persephone had set them up. "Is that…?"

"A yeti."

"So those exist now?"

"I'm guessing they always did, we just have never met one since demigods don't spend much time in the Himalayas."

"Yeah...I _really_ don't like your step-mother."

"Join the club."

"How we gonna handle this?"

"I assumed fight it."

They exchanged a look that all demigods understand, before drawing their swords and charging.

中断

With one final slice of Nico's blade, the monster disintegrated, leaving a heap of dust and a claw.

He leaped into the air with a loud whoop of victory. "Ha!" he shouted. "Take that!"

A few feet away Percy looked equally exhilarated. He was laughing joyfully, jabbing Riptide into the air. "Dude! That was awesome!"

"Oh my gods!" he exclaimed breathlessly. "I haven't fought like that in years!" Sure, he'd had little skirmishes, slayed a few monsters, but he hadn't had a battle like _that_ since the second war, and he most definitely hadn't fought _alongside_ someone. The blood was boiling in his veins, and in the good way; he could feel every inch of his body buzzing with restless energy.

Percy caught his attention, "When did you learn to fight like that man?" he said with a smile. "Gods, that move with the―"

He was cut off as Nico strode forward, grabbed his face with two hands, and soundly kissed him.

中断

...What?

What was―why was―but―Nico was―what?

Nico's mouth was pressed against Percy's lips.

What?

_What?!_

_WHAT?!_

Percy stood frozen, eyes wide, trying to figure out what was happening as Nico swiped his tongue across his lower lip. Was Nico...kissing him? But...that didn't make any sense.

What?

Nico broke away, panting hard, a string of spit hanging between them. Percy stared back at him, closed-mouthed, still in shock. "Um," Nico didn't seem to know what had just happened, either.

"What…" Percy began. "What just―but―why did―I don't―but you're―but I'm―but―what?"

Nico realized what had just happened. He let go of Percy's face and sprang back a few feet. He was blushing wildly and the frantic energy had been replaced with mortification. "S-sorry," he stuttered. "I-I di-didn't m-mean to do th-that."

Percy blinked, as if that would change what just happened. "What…" the hand not holding Riptide wiped the spit that was _not_ his off his lips. "I need to...see you later." He turned on his heels and whistled for Mrs. O'Leary. She appeared out of the shadows, and he climbed on her back, ordering her to take him back to camp.

中断

He stumbled through camp in a daze. "Nope, no, that didn't happen, nuh-uh."

"Percy?" Annabeth spoke. She was walking hand-in-hand with Piper. "Seaweed Brain, what happened?"

"I don't―Nico...he…"

The two girls exchanged a look and brought him back to his cabin. They sat him on his bed, settling on either side of him. "So. Want to tell us about it?" Piper asked, with just a hint of charmspeak.

Nearly an hour later, Percy had managed to recount the story of the quest, ending with, "And then I left."

For a moment they were both silent, before Piper said in an exasperated voice, "You _left_?"

"Uh," he looked at her bewildered. How was this his fault? What had he done wrong? "Yeah?"

"Let me get this straight," she glared. "After Nico kissed you, and _apologized_, you left?"

"Erm, should I not have done that?" Both girls rubbed their temples like they had a headache.

"Whatever," Piper sighed. "What are you going to do _now_?"

"Now?" Oh. Repercussions. He'd forgotten about that. He thought about just not going back. But Persephone expected their help, and it wouldn't go well if he never showed again. Guess he'd just have to deal. "...It was probably just post-battle excitement, right? Not a big deal?"

"Well…"

"Before we figure out what to do," Annabeth interceded, "maybe you should decide how _you_ feel about it."

"How I feel…?"

"Yeah. Did you hate it? Or do you not mind?"

"I mean…" How _did_ he feel about Nico kissing him? He thought back to the feel of the younger boy's lips against his own.

Nico's skin was cool, but more air-conditioning after a summer day cool than hard-wood floor on a winter morning cool. It was a pleasant contrast to Percy's overheated body. It was very..._different_ from kissing a girl. Nico's hands were strong, commanding, which was both irritating and exciting. The way he kissed was rough, fast, harsh, the exact opposite to a girls soft, sweet lips. It was a foreign sensation, but not entirely unpleasant. There was a faint scratch when their jaws slid against each other.

He hadn't exactly been paying attention, but what he did recall hadn't been _bad_.

"I guess…" he blushed brightly. "I _kinda_ liked it. I don't really know." The girls smiled lightly at him.

"Then you can't get mad at him, so what do you think you should you do?"

"Act like it's no big deal, even though it may have made me realize I like guys." The girls both giggled. "Yeah. I guess that's really all I can plan without knowing how he'll react."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You should go tonight at the usual time. Don't make him wait too long."

Percy decided that he would do just that, and started getting ready for the rest of his day.

中断

The next day saw Percy knocking on Nico's door. There was such a long pause that he thought maybe the younger boy was out, but then Nico opened up, looking surprised and wary. That kind of made him feel bad; did Nico have so little faith in him?

"Yeah?" the son of Hades said with a slightly threatening edge.

"Can I come in?" Percy smiled placatingly, or at least what he thought was placatingly. Nico seemed annoyed by it.

"Sure," the other boy shrugged and held the door open; he walked in. They went to the living room, but neither of them sat down. Nico stood with his arms crossed, staring out the window, while Percy stared at his feet. "Look, I really am sorry about what happened―"

"No," Percy interrupted. "It's...fine, really. It was just that fight, no big deal. It's not like either of us even like guys anyway." Well, except for him maybe, but he decided not to mention that…

There was a long, anxious pause before Nico spoke, "Actually I'm gay."

Wait… "You're...what?"

Nico blushed and jerked his head in the opposite direction of Percy. "I like guys. If it had been a girl I was fighting with I wouldn't have done that."

"Wait...I don't...what?"

Nico huffed in annoyance. "Do I have to spell it out for you? 'Cause I prefer to keep my love-life private."

"I...no. It's fine. I mean...I don't mind or anything." His mind was still reeling, but of course it didn't bother him.

"Good." Nico grabbed the little potted plant off his coffee table, and started toward the door. He turned around and cocked an eyebrow, "You coming?"

"Whaa…? Yeah." Percy followed Nico out, not quite sure why he was blushing.

* * *

**A/N: You can't tell because I didn't include it, but I suck at fight scenes. Comment, yes no?**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: *casually updates a week late***

**I finally got my precious laptop back! *runs in victorious circles* So have a new chapter! I actually had to do some research on this, so the basis of Despoena is trueish, and the details I made up. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6

What had he done?

Was he absolutely insane? What had he been thinking? Nico couldn't believe himself. Just...saying it like that. Casually. Like it was no big deal. But then, it was no big deal. Or, it shouldn't be. He liked who he liked, and Percy should just have to deal with it, right? Besides, Percy hadn't seemed to mind. Yeah, he'd been a bit shocked, okay really shocked, but not disgusted, or weirded out at all. Still...his hands were shaking and he felt like throwing up.

Well, too late to turn back. He'd just have to live with it.

They arrived at the spot in the garden where they'd met Persephone the day before. She seemed slightly disappointed but not surprised to see them alive. "You have it?" was all she said.

"Yes," he replied politely, handing her the pot. She smiled at it, before it poofed away to who-knows-where.

Then Percy had to open his big mouth.

"Thanks for warning us about that yeti, by the way." He was apparently out of his stupor. "Really helpful."

Nico shot him a wide eyed glare, trying to say _shut the hell up!_ with his eyes. Too late.

Persephone turned her cold gaze to Percy. With a swipe of her hand he disappeared. In his place was a potted iris. Nico shouted with alarm. "What the hell! Turn him back!"

"Mmm." She shrugged and brushed a bit of dust off her skirts. "He was annoying me. And besides," she cocked her head. "I wish to talk with you. I don't think you want him to hear, do you?"

He bristled with anger. "You didn't have to turn him into a flower."

She looked at him like _he _was the crazy one. "Well of course I did."

He took in a deep breath and released it. It would do him no good to cuss out a goddess. "Fine. Whatever. What do you want to talk about?"

She smiled sweetly. "If you don't mind my asking," she very well knew he did mind, but was going to ask anyway, "Why are you helping him with this quest? Not that I don't love you two doing my chores for me, but it doesn't seem like you have much to gain. We both know that _you_ are the one who gave him those flowers, though what possessed me to aid you, I don't know. So why help him? What foolish mortal logic am I missing here?"

"Look, I...I don't know, okay? I couldn't say no to him, and now I have to see it through."

She narrowed her eyes at him. Finally she said, "I don't understand humans."

He shrugged. "Yeah neither do I." They continued to stare each other down, and he was the one to break the silence. "So what's the next task already?"

She smiled again; he really wanted her to stop doing that. "Nothing much. My sister Despoena has stolen something valuable of mine. She would say _borrow_, but she's unlikely to return it for a thousand years. In any case I need you to...retrieve it."

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He wanted them to rob a goddess. Great. Just great. "What is _it_?"

"Mmm, _it_ is a necklace your father gave me some time ago. Just a dinky little thing, but he would be very upset with me if he found out I'd lost it. And he's so annoying when he's upset. So you'll just have to get it back for me, yes?"

"Fine," he gritted his teeth.

She shot him another wicked smile, "Good. You should find her at her sanctuary in Lycosura." Then she flashed out in a swirl of petals. The potted iris turned back into Percy, who coughed up a leaf.

"Ouch," said the son of Poseidon. "What happened?"

"You pissed off Persephone."

"Again?" he seemed almost smug.

"Yeah," Nico laughed, which surprised Percy.

"Um," he shook his head. "What did she say?"

"We need to steal a necklace back from her sister, Despoena."

"Oh." He blinked and scratched the back of his head. "And she is…"

Nico smirked. "You should know," he said. "She's your sister, too."

Percy balked. "What?" he exclaimed. Jeez, everywhere he turned there was a new weirdo sibling.

Nico was now laughing at him, somewhat scarily, with his hand hiding his mouth. "Despoena," he said, taking on his lecturing voice. "Daughter of Demeter and Poseidon, sister of Arion." Percy turned a little green at the mention of his horsely relative. "She wasn't too involved in all the mythology, but she had a pretty big cult going on in Arkadia. Persephone says we should look for her at her sanctuary in Lycosura."

"Ah. Of course. That's in...um…."

"Greece."

"Greece, right, I knew that."

He sighed. "Sure Percy."

"No, really!"

"Uh-huh. Let's just get going."

"Jeez, when did you get so bossy, kid?"

"I swear to the gods Percy, I will hurt you if you call me that again."

中断

They appeared in the shadow of a large tree. The area was lightly forested, with midday sunlight filtering through. The ground was uneven, and there seemed to be a clearing uphill. They weaved their way through rocks and trees, until they came into the grassy clearing. They were facing an ancient ruin, with only the foundation and a few columns left. Behind it were some wide stairs, like the theatre at Camp Half Blood. "This must be Despoena's sanctuary," Nico said.

"It was," a voice came from behind a couple trees across the clearing. A woman stepped out and walked slowly down the steps and into the center of the ruins. "But no one has worshipped here for millennia."

"My Lady," he bowed slightly. Percy did not.

The goddess was barefooted, wearing a soft green Greek-style dress, with a brown cloth belt around her waist. An elaborately weaved veil hung over her hair, out of her face which had that annoying timeless quality that many gods had, that made her look anywhere from fifteen to thirty. Her skin was lightly tanned, her eyes a rich green. He imagined that beneath the veil her hair was black. She didn't acknowledge his bow, but instead gracefully sat one of the huge stone blocks and continued to speak. "Once there were many humans here; now my only visitors are greedy mortals looking to steal my secrets." She focused her eyes one them. "I don't suppose that is why you are here?"

"My Lady," he repeated. He didn't like her looking at him. Her gaze made him feel heavy, alone. "We have no desire for your secrets. We were passing through and wanted to visit the temple."

"On a quest are you?" Her voice was soft and melancholy, like forgotten dreams. She sighed, "Come sit. If your going to steal from me the least you can do is talk with me for a while."

The two demigods exchanged a look. Percy, well, he was pretty sure Percy was trying to say, _lets just get the necklace and go!_ but Nico felt sorry for her. It was the least they could do right? Hopefully Percy wouldn't piss her off too much.

He sat down near her. Percy cursed behind him but sat as well."It must have been beautiful here," he said in his best _it's-okay-talk-to-me_ voice, which was a rather new development in his life.

She smiled, and it matched her voice. "It was. It used to be a grand, beautiful temple, with a statue of mother and I right at the front to greet my followers. Now all that's left is rubble, and anything of interest has been carted off to museums." She sighed again; she seemed to do that alot.

"Then why are you still here?" Percy spoke unexpectedly. "Why not go to America?"

She glared slightly. "This is my home," she said. "I have resided here for centuries. I am not exactly a well known goddess. Many mortals don't even think I am me. They think Despoena is another name for Artemis or Athena or _Persephone_. Here I was known; I was worshipped. My followers thought I was great, greater even than Zeus. This place is sacred to me. I can't leave."

"Oh," Percy looked vaguely guilty. "So...what exactly are you the goddess of?"

Most gods would have likely smote him for that question, but she just seemed resigned to it, like she'd heard it a lot. "Nothing specific really. I'm a general fertility goddess. Pray and sacrifice to me and your family will be blessed with a good harvest, good livestock, and many babies, that sort of thing."

"Oh." They fell into a period of awkward silence, that Despoena didn't seem to be bothered by.

"You two aren't very good at making conversation, are you?"

"Er, well, we don't talk with gods a lot."

"I see."

"Um―"

"Here's the thing," Nico interrupted. "Persephone sent us. She wanted us to trick you and steal back some necklace of hers. But to be honest I've known you for about five minutes and already like you a loooot more. So. There it is."

She studied him for a moment. "Of course she would try to spin it on me. I ought to destroy it, that would serve her right." Percy and Nico's eyes went wide in panic. "But I won't. For a son of Hades...well you're alright. You," she pointed to Percy, "I don't like, even if you are my brother."

"Yeah." Percy shrugged. "I get that a lot."

She turned back to Nico. "But because I find you tolerable, I'll tell you that the necklace you are looking for is in a box in that rubble over there. There's also a few seeds, but you may want to leave those alone." At the last part she winked. He didn't want to know what that meant.

"Thank you," he said and bowed again. Percy had already gone over, dug around a bit, and stood up triumphantly, holding something in his fist.

"Now leave me in peace," she said, closing her eyes and ignoring them. They both wanted to get out of there before she changed her mind, as gods were prone to do, and quickly started back to where they came from.

But before they entered the treeline, Percy stopped. "Hey," he said, and not to Nico. "Just...consider coming to America, okay? I think you'd like it. And sometimes...you gotta let things go, you know?"

And Nico wondered if Percy was speaking to him after all…

中断

Nico had been the one to take them from France to Greece, and was pretty exhausted from it. So they called Mrs. O'Leary and had her take them back to Nico's apartment for the night.

To be honest he was kinda nervous about Percy staying over. Now that Percy _knew_ what if he was uncomfortable? What if he was disgusted? Of course he would _act_ like it was no big deal, he needed Nico for this quest. But what if he was actually freaked out by it? Gods, he needed to stop stressing over this. Whatever would happen would happen. There was really nothing to worry about.

And as it turns out, video games conquer all.

"Die!" he shouted as his character threw a frisbee blade at Percy. They had ended up playing a little-known combat game, which Nico loved simply for the pure ridiculousness of the weapons. But Percy's character ducked, and he laughed, throwing a popcorn bomb at Nico. Strangely enough, the popcorn bomb did a lot of damage. Based on the logic that when a thousand little kernels get blasted into your flesh, and then pop, its going to hurt. Nico's character, on the brink of death, shouted something in the video-game language, dropped to his knees, and died. "Dammit!" he swore, nearly throwing his controller, before thinking better of it and gently setting it down. "I freaking hate those popcorn bombs."

"Hey, you beat me like six times. I think I deserve a win."

"Shut up." He turned towards the other boy and went to hit him on the shoulder, but Percy, being a demigod, caught his wrist. "Hey!" he exclaimed, looking up to meet Percy's eyes. "Um."

For a second they sat like that, neither of them moving, both of them wondering what was going on. Then Percy released his wrist, looked away, blushing slightly, and muttered, "Hey don't you have school tomorrow? It's getting pretty late, you should probably turn in."

Nico nodded his agreement and got up. "Yeah. I'll do that. Um, try to keep it down."

He went to his room, and when he finally fell asleep an hour later, his wrist was still tingling.

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**A/N: Tada! I, uh, actually had planned on this chapter being longer, but yesterday my friend called me and was like "hey, minecraft marathon." And, well, you know how that is.**

**But anyhow, do you like the sexual tension? *winkwink***

**And also, after this is wrapped up I was thinking about doing some sort of Jasico AU. Would you guys like that?**


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